Propeller



July 18, 1939. w, AUSTIN PROPELLER Filed Feb. 10, 1936 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VEN TOR.

WIII

July 18, 1939.

,E. w. AUSTIN PROPELLER Filed Feb. 10, 1936 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented July 18, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PROPELLER Ellsworth W. Austin, Cedar Rapids, Iowa Application February 10, 1926'; Serial No. 63,053

8 Claims- (Cl. 170-163) I however,.in most instances elaborate systems of geartrains have necessarily been provided to operzite the blades in unison toalter their pitch and to transmit the relatively low powers of a prime mover to effect this purpose.

The-present invention has for an object a simplified method of connecting the blades to work in unison.

Another object of the invention is to provide power means for changing the pitch angle during Another object is to provide a simple reducing gear unit.

Another object is to provide a wedge means for transmitting power to rotate the blades.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide trunnion connections for the propeller blades. I

Further objects of the invention are to provide a device simple in construction, durable, light in weight and one which lends itself readily to production methods of manufacture.

These and further objects and novel features of the present invention will be more fully evidenced from a study of the following description and accompanying drawings wherein like characters 7 denote like parts throughout the'several views:

3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a fragmental view taken along the line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view of a modification of my device. v v

Fig. 6 is a fragmental view taken along the line C6 of Fig. 5. I

blade.

Fig. 8 is a fragmental view partly in section showing still another modification for mounting a blade.

Briefly referring to the drawings, Figs. 1, 2 and 5, a propeller hub 9 is mounted on the extension of an aircraft engine crankshaft I 0. Propeller 5 blades are designated as l I and are simultaneously adjusted by annular members l2 and I20. In the preferred form an electrically driven reducing gear is generally indicated as l3 and a reversible motor It is axially mounted on the nose of the 10 propeller and coupled to the reduction gear unit.

In the modification principally shown in Fig. 5 the reduction gear and motor are replaced with an hydraulic or fluid operated jack generally designated as I 5. Fig. 6 shows clearly how a wedging means is arranged for rotating the annular members l2 and I in opposite directions when the fluid operated jack is employed. Thus it will be understood that my device is entirely workable.

Referring more in detail to the drawings, it will 0 be noted that the hub 9 is arranged with splines I6 to engage mating splines on the engine shaft l0 and taper seats at I! and I 8 are provided in conventional manner for drawing the hub 9 snugly in place when nut member IQ of the preferred form is tightened up against the split cone washer 20. On the extended end of the nut member l9, ball bearing 2| is secured by the ring nut 22 and the externally threaded shell 23 is arranged to rotate having the outer race of the bearing clamped within its bore by the retainer 24 which is provided with spanner wrench pro-- jections 24l on its outer rim.

Provision is made for mounting the motor I! in that the bore of nut member I9 is arranged to receive the cylindrical extension 34 of the motor 14. The armature shaft of the motor terminates in a pinion 25 in mesh with a pair of idler gears one of which is shown as 26. Conventional bushings 21 are pressed within the bore of the gears and pins 28 provide journals for the gears, inwardly projecting ear portions IQ of the nut member l9 being provided for the purpose. The threaded shell23 is provided with internal gear teeth 29 for engaging the idler pinions 26. A lip 35 is provided inwardly extend-' ing from nut 24 and likewise a lip 36 fits closely about nut member I 9 thus lubricant may be injected in the usual way at 3'0 and conducted through drillings that the gears andfthe bearings may be operated in a lubricant bath.

Referring again to hub 9 it'will be observed that stub portions 3| provide journals forthe shell blades H. Bushings 32 are aranged at the base of the-blades and roller bearings 33 u 45 are arranged with prongs to engage and lock the nuts in conventional manner to allow the annular members to turn freely on the journalled ends 42 and 43 of the hub.

An additional lock 46 is provided to, engage conventional notches in the nut member I! and also to engage one or more of the usual spanner notches of the nut 40, that the nut member I! may be securely held.

Referring particularly to Fig. 1 it will be observed that between the blades there are .T slots 48 cut the full length of the-central portion of the hub 9, these slots being designed to carry sliding members 50, one of which is shown in Fig. 2. A plurality of plus is provided as 5| connecting each of the sliding members with the internally threaded sleeve 520 which is arranged to traverse the entire length of the threaded shell 23 previously described. Again referrin to sliding members 50, stubs are provided at ill with rollers 52 and 52' mounted thereon and retained with washers 53. The ends of stubs 5| being upset to form rivet heads to retain the washers. This arrangement is further shown in Fig. 1 wherein it will be observed that rollers 52 and 52' are arranged to contact one another for mutual support in resisting the thrust set up in spreading the wedge arms 54 and 55 which are integral parts of the annular members I2 and -I respectively. Fig. 4 best illustrates the relative arrangement of the rollers 02 and 52' and the wedge arms and 00.

To insure protection against the elements when the propeller is in service, sheet metal guards 56 and 01 are provided to entirely house the hub and associate mechanism. Screws 50 are employed to secure the guards flrmly one to the other and are placed at intervals about their circumferential intersection. Reinforcing tapped washers 5! being spot welded to the guard 01 to receive the screws. An annular packing 60 is arranged in a groove 0| about the motor to insure a tight Joint at-this intersection.

The hydraulically operated modification shown in Fig.5 has been briefly described and I will now refer in detail to the drawings, that a clear analysis of the mechanism may be had. To securely clamp the huh I in place on the engine shaft II, the fixed cylinder II is threadedat 15' and adapted to receive the split cone washer 20. wrench are provided at I0. It will be noted that piston 11 has a skirt portion 11 which slidably flts the smooth bore of the-cylinder adjacent its threaded end and further a lip portion is 00 in conjunction with a split lip expanding,

spring II assures the cup packing-II being solid-.

ly clamped'to the piston and expanded to seal against the cylinder wall in the desired manner.

Again referring to the piston 'I'l, suitable provi- Conventional holes for a spanner screws 82 for mounting a spinner 03 which has its open end telescoping the cylinder and providing lugs to which are clamped the connecting rods 00 by. the nuts 05.

To assure alignment of the connecting rods ll one of which is shown in Fig. 5, guides 00 are arranged to be clamped in place by bolts 01 in the extended ear portions of the hub. The annular member I20 is provided with suitable holes 08 to allow clearance for the guides for, as will be observed in Fig. 6, both annular members I2 and I20 are arranged to be slightly rotated about the hub as an as in the case of my-preierred form previously described, when wedges 00 are made to compress springs which are arranged on the shanks of the connecting rods. It will be understood that a plurality of wedge arrangements is usually provided, the number of course depending on whether the propeller be a two or three bladed one.

Rollers III are arranged to tum in the ear portions of each of the annular members, pins 92 being provided for the purpose.

Referring to Figs. 7 and 8 further modifications of my propeller will be noted,-wherein thrust bearings 95 of conventionalform are employed for the blades.

ings are also used.' In this instance the annular members I03 have openings I 00 arranged to receive the extending trunnions I05, one of which is shown, of band I06 which is solidly clamped to the blade I01. It will be noted that the arrangement justdescribed is simply a reversal of certain parts of the arrangement of Fig. 7 and will be further noted that such an arrangement might logically be applied to the forms of my device previously described and should properly be considered well within the scope of the appended claims.

The operation of the device. in general is as -.-tion. This is clearly illustrated in Figs. 1, 3, and 4 and principally consists of oil'setting the trimnions ll and II! from the radial centerline of their blade, to a point sllch 88 I. This arrangement has a function similar to that of an arrangement shown in myco-pending application,

= Serial Number 30,301'filed July 8, 1935, namely to apply the centrifugal force of the blades in action at a point other than on the true radial centerline thus to set up moments to rotate the annular members and blades. 1 7

It will be seen that with a construction embodying means normally to advance the pitch of the blades, two principal advantages are had.

First, power to operate the blades to adjust the pitch, need be applied in onlg namely to decrease the pitch. Secondly, lost .motion in controlling the blade is entirely elimwill of the operator, for at his station a reversing switch, not shown, connects the motor H to a ward the motor. The rollers 52 andl52' takingthe position as indicated by the dotted lines to source of current also not shown, such as a generator drivenfrom the aircraft engine or a' storage. battery.

In service the operator may cause the electric motor to operate in the so-called reverse direction, this will set in motion the gears 25 of the reduction unit l3 thus cause a rotation of the externally'threaded shell 23 which in turn will force the sleeve 520 in the direction of the dotted line toward the motor housing. This of course causes the'sliding members 50 on which the roll-- ers are mouted to also be moved forward or tospread the wedge arms. The propeller blades thus being adjusted to a low pitch, the aircraft may take off.

- When full flight is reached and the pitch angle of the blades is desired to be increased, the motor is again set in operation but in the opposite direction from that previously used and, of

course, in like manner the rollers are-moved to allow the annular members I!- and I20 to resume their original position and thus the blades again take a high pitch. Intermediate positions of the blades obviously are obtained at the will of the operator., It can be perceived that in some cases inherent turning of the blades may be toward the low pitch setting, in which case the arrangement of wedge arms and rollers may, of course, be such as to function accordingly. A spreading of the arms by the action-of the power means, in such cases, causing an increase of pitch angle. e

The operation of the modifled form shown in Figs. 5 and 6 utilizing an hydraulic or fluid operated jack l5 to move the wedge member 85 is analogous to that described for the electricallyoperated device. In this case a control valve not shown, is provided for the operator that fluid may enter the cylinder 15 under pressure from a pump. not shown, throughthe central bore of the engine shaft ll. The expansion of the jack will in this case move the wedge member's I! that the annular members result'in a blade action of decreased pitch. The springs in,addition to the inherent ability of theblades to seek a high pitch,

suflice a means for returning'the piston," of

jack l5 to its original position when the operator's shown may be omitted or othersaddedyet hold-f ing to the spirit of the description and claims.

I claim as my invention: 1. An aircraft'propeller comprising a hub and blades arranged for pitch'adiustment, annular members mounted on the hub with the blades interposed therebetween, connections for the blades that simultaneous adjusting action may be obtained, wedge arm extensions of said annular one direction,

. f z 3 members, saidextensions being positioned in opposition one to another for wedging action, and ameans for rotating the annular members in opposite direction comprising a pair of rollers.- mounted on the hub to coact with the wedge arm extensions to cause angular movement thereof and a power means mounted on the hub andfconnections from the power means to move the rollers axially with respect to the hub.

2. A controllable pitch propeller having-allhub' with stubs and adjustable blades mounted theretate on the hub in response to turning of the blades, and a wedge means, non-rotatable with respect to its own axis but arranged eccentrically outside the hub for axial movement on the hub and connections for the power means to operate the wedge means to oppose the rotation of the annular member.

3. An aircraft propeller comprising a hlhl and bladesarranged for pitch adjustment, an annular member mounted on the hub and having connections to the blades for simultaneous 'movement thereof, and a wedging means comprising a roller for wedge action, a wedge arm extension formed as a side projection of said annular member and having an angular surface; thereon, said roller being arranged to contact said angular surface; a sliding member disposed on one side of said hub and mounting said roller for axialisliding movement so that said annular member is rotated upon axial movement of said slidin member, power means connected to said sliding member to cause axial movement of said sliding member in either direction.

4. An aircraft propeller comprising a hub, a

rality of blades mounted on the hub for'pitch adjustment, an annular member mounted to roon, power means positioned axially with respect to the hub, an annular member arrangedto rotate onthe hub, a wedge arm projection extending from the face of the annular member.

connections from the annular member to the blades to effect simultaneous adjustment of the same, and a sliding member arranged in the-slot of the hub, .a roller somounted on the sliding member that power applied to move the latter axially causes the roller to contact the wedge projectioir of the annular member to rotate the same.

"5. An aircraft propeller comprising a hub, slots each sliding member to the sleeveto transmit 'ax'ial adjusting movement therefrom, athr'eaded member arranged concentrically with the sleeve arranged axially thereof, a plurality of blades' mounted on the hub for "pitch adjustment, an I v member for' rotation of the same,

to coact therewith and. power means for operating said .sleevethrough the coaction of said 1 threaded member.

a. An aircraft propeller comprising a hub withslots arranged axiallyth'ereqf and a plurality of blades mounted for-pitch adjustment, an annular member mountedlto rotate on the hub, um

' member to the blades nections from the annular to effect simultaneous adjustment of the same,

projections on a face 01' the annular member, a plurality of sliding members arranged in the slots, rollers mounted on the sliding members for contacting the projections of the annular member for rotation of the same and a power operated actuating device comprising internally and externally threaded members for eilecting simul-- taneous axial movement of the sliding members.

a 7. A propeller comprising a .hub with blades mounted thereonfor pitch variation, annular members arranged to rotate about the axis 01' the hub to simultaneously adjust the pitch of the blades, wedge arm extensions, one each being provided for said annular members and arranged for wedge action, a sliding member arranged to slide axially on an outer portion oi" the hub, and a wedge member mounted on the sliding member and positioned between said wedge arm exten- 'sions to coact with and to adjust the same, a power means for operating the sliding member,

and connection means coupling the power means to the sliding member to actuate the same.

8. A propeller comprising a hub with blades mounted thereon for pitch variation, blade adjusting means arranged to rotate on said hub for simultaneously adjusting the pitch of the blades,

wedge arm extensions integrally arranged with said blade adjusting means whereby the displacement of one of said wedge arm extensions will cause rotary movement or said adjusting means,

the wedge arm extensions being arranged in proximity one with another for wedge action, a sliding member arranged to slide axially with respect to the hub, a wedge member mounted on the sliding member and positioned between said wedge arm extensions to coact with and to adjust the same, a power means for operating the sliding member, and connection means coupling the power means to the sliding member to actuate thesame.

ELLSWORTH W. AUSTIN. 

